The White House's Dog and Pony Show

As part of the White House's aggressive campaign to defend President Bush's domestic wiretapping policy, Barney the White House Dog was sent out to meet with reporters earlier today. Some analysts interpreted the first-of-its-kind press conference as a sure sign that the President's advisors are growing increasingly concerned over public reaction to the NSA's controversial eavesdropping activity, recently renamed the "Terrorist Surveillance Program". But according to one source, the White House believes that while Barney may lack any ability to deliver a cogent argument or make himself understood in even the most rudimentary way, the President's five-year-old Scottish Terrier is uniquely capable of instantly melting an audience by flipping onto his back and offering himself up for a belly rub.